In air pollution, choking Delhi is top of the world

Experts say the pollution level is still dangerous and the city is the most polluted in the world on most days.

New Delhi: Delhi’s air quality has improved considerably since Diwali, with the density of dangerous small particulate matter falling by two-thirds since then, but experts say the pollution level is still dangerous and the city is the most polluted in the world on most days.

According to data from AirVisual, which tracks air quality around the world, New Delhi has been on top of the list for about three weeks, with Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Kabul and Karachi also figuring among the 10 most polluted major cities on the planet.

Delhi air is contaminated by toxins from chimneys, vehicular emission, dust and fumes from the fields in Punjab and Haryana, where farmers burn the stubs of harvested crops to prepare the ground for next round of planting.

“The sad part is, stubble burning in neighbouring states is still going on, and the size of farms beings burnt in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh is huge, which is dangerous,” said Jatin Singh, managing director of independent weather forecasting agency Skymet.

“It is going to have long-term effect on air quality in the northern region,” he said.

Official data shows the level of microparticles PM2.5 — which had soared to a dangerous level of more than 500 micrograms per cubic metre — is currently below 200 but that is still more than three times the safe limit.

“We have moved into this Indian streak of learning to live with it and creating a market around it instead of finding a solution,” Singh said. “This is a governance issue and despite rules and restrictions being in place, they are not being enforced.”

The rise in air pollution towards the end of October triggered a series of official measures such as shutting down of construction and factories that burn coal. Authorities also threatened to ban all private vehicles if air quality did not improve. But experts and volunteer groups suggest a more balanced, long-term approach.

“Delhi is polluted throughout the year… we cannot have these conversations in the month of October-November, when the city is most polluted,” said Vimlendu Jha, founder of activist group Swechha. “Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a last-minute approach to control pollution, which is not going to have long-term impact. This ‘end of pipe’ approach to pollution is not going to work,” he said.

Jha said the central government as well as states were lax in combating air pollution.

On Thursday, a task force led by the Central Pollution Control Board suggested stricter implementation of pollution control measures already in force by agencies responsible under GRAP, along with a ban on industrial and construction activities in areas defined as pollution hotspots.

Delhi’s air quality started deteriorating towards the end of October this year, stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab being the main reason behind hazardous air in the national capital region. The city’s pollution levels reached alarming levels after Diwali, despite the Supreme Court’s restriction on fireworks, which many people openly violated.